Of the years that pass and a love that still waits
by Isabella1020
Summary: Five years is a long time for someone to be kept waiting, and she was tired of waiting in vain. Jhloe. Oneshot.


**Author's Note:** Hey. This is my first (and probably last, I won't torture you guys XD) attempt of writing a Jhloe one-shot. I hope I didn't make any mistakes, since I don't watch the show. I, however, like the pairing, since a friend of mine usually tells me about them and I've read all of her fan fiction and I think I've gotten to understand both characters. As usual, reviews are highly appreciated, whether you like the story or not. This goes to Dai, as some kind of virtual present for her 18th birthday. (There's a better dedication on the other story I'm posting as a present- because that one I wrote in Spanish, haha.)

PS: I'm sorry it couldn't be longer. You know how my muse seems to have a problem with long stories ¬¬

* * *

He had never noticed Chloe O'Brian.

Sure, he'd seen her and he knew who she was. She practically saved his life every single day, after all.

But he never _really_ noticed her.

It wasn't her fault: Jack Bauer never noticed anyone or anything.

Maybe if he weren't always so in rush, so worried about saving the world. Maybe if he'd paid attention, he would have seen her, he would have noticed her. But he never paid attention, he never looked carefully.

He couldn't see the woman whose love for him saved his life every single day.

Chloe O'Brian loved him.

She loved Jack Bauer with all her heart.

She'd loved him since day one and she didn't think she'd ever stop.

She loved him more than she had ever loved someone.

She loved him more than he deserved.

And he didn't notice her.

It killed her that he didn't notice her.

Sometimes that fact made her so angry that she would have preferred being seen and then rejected.

Sometimes she wished she had never met him.

Of course then she regretted having those kinds of thoughts.

Some other times she wondered why that happened to her.

She wondered if it was some kind of punishment for being a bad person or something. She didn't think she was a bad person, but maybe God thought otherwise.

She knew she could end her stressful situation by just telling Jack that she loved him. But the truth is, deep down inside she was afraid of what he might say. Fear of making a fool of herself (_What if he laughs at me?), _fear of ending up with her heart broken_ (What if he says he loves someone else?) _fear of losing what little she had _(What if he thinks I'm crazy or something and stops talking to me?)_

You know, that kind of questions, that kind of fears can paralyze a person.

So she never said anything. She just watched him living without her, she watched him trying to build a life, failing, hitting rock bottom and trying again, but she never dared to tell him to try and build a life with her. She was too afraid.

Hiding her love for him was so hard… She had no idea how she managed to do it, but she did it, even when it was the hardest, most painful thing she had ever had to do. Yet she was good at it. And that led her back to the beginning: he didn't notice her. Only that now she knew it was partially her fault: he didn't notice her because he never noticed anything about anyone, especially her, _**and**_ he didn't notice her because she was god at hiding her love for him.

When she thought about that she couldn't find a reason to get up in the mornings.

It was all so hard and complicated and messy and she didn't want to live that way.

She wanted to be happy- that was all she'd ever wanted.

But for some reason, she had never been able to accomplish that goal.

Especially since she'd met (and fallen in love with) Jack Bauer.

Five years is a long time for a person to wait, and she had been waiting.

Five years is a long time for a punishment to last, and she didn't think she deserved it.

Five years is a long time for a love to be hiding.

Five years is a long time, and she didn't think she wanted it to be longer.

She didn't tell him how she felt.

He never noticed.

He'd walked out on her so many times, leaving her broken.

Five years is a long time.

She knows she's not perfect, but all she asks is for him to notice her, to realize that she's there, waiting, suffering, and loving him without saying a word.

All she wants is for him to _stop ignoring her_, look at her, and say that they will give it a try.

And if it doesn't work out, so be it, she can live with it.

What she can't live with is knowing that there might be a chance for them and they didn't take it.

Five years is a long time, and she thought she was tired of waiting in vain.


End file.
